Pumpkin carving............................

Indian Princess · Post by **Indian Princess** » Fri Oct 12, 2007 4:48 am

Ok, that time of year, I do my deck and front porch with straw bails,and cornstocks,and pumpkins, indian corn on the door, but for the pumpkins, I dont carve faces, i take my sons cordless drill and put about 300 drill holes into them, and put a fine,very fine, dusting of gold glitter, he chooses to do the traditional way. What do you do?

jpcme · Post by **jpcme** » Fri Oct 12, 2007 6:39 am

I go down the pub.

RedGlitter · Post by **RedGlitter** » Fri Oct 12, 2007 1:45 pm

I carve my pumpkin with patterns I get online and special tools. I roast the seeds and eat them while watching all the scary Hallowe'en shows.

along-for-the-ride · Post by **along-for-the-ride** » Fri Oct 12, 2007 1:52 pm

RedGlitter;708201 wrote: I carve my pumpkin with patterns I get online and special tools. I roast the seeds and eat them while watching all the scary Hallowe'en shows.

You've got the spirit, girlfriend!:)

minks · Post by **minks** » Fri Oct 12, 2007 1:53 pm

not to be a killjoy but I don't do halloween, to stressing on my pets

chonsigirl · Post by **chonsigirl** » Fri Oct 12, 2007 2:05 pm

I have a giant pumpkin in my classroom-best all around student will get it the day before Halloween, with some treats to go with it.

along-for-the-ride · Post by **along-for-the-ride** » Fri Oct 12, 2007 2:24 pm

minks;708210 wrote: not to be a killjoy but I don't do halloween, to stressing on my pets

How so. Minks?

AussiePam · Post by **AussiePam** » Fri Oct 12, 2007 5:06 pm

It's kind of weird celebrating a harvest festival in high spring - but we Down Under do our best. Got out the statutory witch's hat last night, and the pumpkin lantern and fake spiderweb. Last year one of the big supermarkets actually had a few American style carving pumpkins for sale. First time I'd seen them in Australia. I might try out my carving skills again this year.

Can see how fireworks may scare some pets, Minks but there certainly isn't anything in Australian type halloween that could inconvenience anyone except the most calvanistic of neighbours (had one lot of those a few years ago who told my littlie she was pandering to the devil).

Of course, black cats might object to seasonal bad press.

watermark · Post by **watermark** » Fri Oct 12, 2007 11:19 pm

chonsigirl;708214 wrote: I have a giant pumpkin in my classroom-best all around student will get it the day before Halloween, with some treats to go with it.

Awesome incentive!

watermark · Post by **watermark** » Fri Oct 12, 2007 11:20 pm

minks;708210 wrote: not to be a killjoy but I don't do halloween, to stressing on my pets

Our dogs hate 4th of July due to the noise.

watermark · Post by **watermark** » Fri Oct 12, 2007 11:25 pm

RedGlitter;708201 wrote: I carve my pumpkin with patterns I get online and special tools. I roast the seeds and eat them while watching all the scary Hallowe'en shows.

A couple years ago I found a Jack pattern online and me and my kids did this. Never was happier about the outcome of my carving. Was sortof hard to make the holes around the outside of the pattern but I had lots of help. This year I might get out a drill put the tiniest bit on the end and see if it makes the job easier. We'll see.

A student gave me a delectable roasted pumpkin seed today at work. How do you roast yours?

e

RedGlitter · Post by **RedGlitter** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 12:41 am

along-for-the-ride;708209 wrote: You've got the spirit, girlfriend!:)

Thanks!

minks;708210 wrote: not to be a killjoy but I don't do halloween, to stressing on my pets

It sure can be. A lot of pets wig out at the strange costumes and noisy kids. Not to mention their safety if one slipped out the door or fell into bad hands. We used to never adopt out cats and dogs the week of Hallowe'en for these reasons.

chonsigirl;708214 wrote: I have a giant pumpkin in my classroom-best all around student will get it the day before Halloween, with some treats to go with it.

That's a really cool thing, Chonsi!

AussiePam;708277 wrote: It's kind of weird celebrating a harvest festival in high spring - but we Down Under do our best. Got out the statutory witch's hat last night, and the pumpkin lantern and fake spiderweb. Last year one of the big supermarkets actually had a few American style carving pumpkins for sale. First time I'd seen them in Australia. I might try out my carving skills again this year.

Can see how fireworks may scare some pets, Minks but there certainly isn't anything in Australian type halloween that could inconvenience anyone except the most calvanistic of neighbours (had one lot of those a few years ago who told my littlie she was pandering to the devil).

Of course, black cats might object to seasonal bad press.

Have you seen the "ghost pumpkins," Pam? They're white. They make a really neat contrast to the usual orange ones. I had a friend who was dead against Hallowe'en. She was a Jehovah's Witness and would tell me I was playing with evil and how terrible it was, all those skeleton and witch decorations people "worshipped." Some people take out all the fun.

watermark;708338 wrote: A couple years ago I found a Jack pattern online and me and my kids did this. Never was happier about the outcome of my carving. Was sortof hard to make the holes around the outside of the pattern but I had lots of help. This year I might get out a drill put the tiniest bit on the end and see if it makes the job easier. We'll see.

A student gave me a delectable roasted pumpkin seed today at work. How do you roast yours?

e

Oh, I adore fresh pumpkin seeds! I rinse the pumpkin guts off mine and pile them on paper towels to dry for a few minutes. Then I spread them in a glass baking dish or metal pie pan and drizzle olive oil over them, sprinkle with salt and roast at about 350-400 degrees, till light golden brown. I stir them around during roasting to make sure they're evenly coated with the oil.

I also roast squash and cantaloupe/honeydew melon seeds this way during the year. They taste about the same as pumpkin seeds.

AussiePam · Post by **AussiePam** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 1:29 am

I've never seen white pumpkins, Red Glitter.

Aussies, like Brits, normally eat pumpkin (in savoury mode) quite often. We've borrowed from America the idea of using it in sweet dishes, like pumpkin pie, though in Australia pumpkin scones (biscuits) are a specialty in Queenlsand. We mash it with potato, add it to quiches and pasta dishes, or bake it in the oven to go with roast meat. Pumpkin seeds are available in health food stores and most supermarkets, in the nuts and nibbles area.

I LOVE pumpkin soup. Especially in Thai mode, with coriander (cilantro) and coconut milk.

RedGlitter · Post by **RedGlitter** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 2:05 am

That soup sounds delicious, Pam!

Tater Tazz · Post by **Tater Tazz** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 2:21 am

I make scenic things on mine. Then there is always like this one.

Indian Princess · Post by **Indian Princess** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 9:10 am

Pumpkin bread with cream cheese, yum

AussiePam · Post by **AussiePam** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 2:13 pm

Here's the perfect recipe, RedGlitter, for Thai pumpkin soup

http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/4351/th ... nder+pesto

Enjoy!!!!!!!!

RedGlitter · Post by **RedGlitter** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 2:21 pm

Thank you Pam!! Very very much!!

That recipe looks really easy- just my style!

AussiePam · Post by **AussiePam** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 2:34 pm

I can't remember, Red, whether you can buy canned pumpkin soup in the States. Probably you can. We have that here because people eat pumpkin much more than you do, in savoury mode, I mean. You can't buy canned sweetened pumpkin puree here any more (or I haven't seen it in years) like you use for Thanksgiving punkin pie.

I've sometimes cheated by cutting out the fresh pumpkin and stock stage and just spicing up the canned soup with garlic and chili. Substituting coconut milk for other added fluid and then topping the lot with coriander. It works.

Nomad · Post by **Nomad** » Sun Oct 14, 2007 3:42 am

Sometimes when I feel like killing someone, I do a little trick to calm myself down. I'll go over to the persons house and ring the doorbell. When the person comes to the door, I'm gone, but you know what I've left on the porch? A jack-o-lantern with a knife stuck in the side of its head with a note that says "You." After that I usually feel a lot better, and no harm done

JHANDY